Vetting database costs to hit £170m

Friday, September 11, 2009

The government's controversial vetting database, the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS), will cost up to £170m, The Independent has reported.

Public bodies that have workers in sensitive roles will be required to register all relevant staff members on the scheme. At a cost of £64 per employee, the NHS is expected to spend £83m on it and the Prison Service £2.5m.

The VBS has already cost £84m to set up and some tough decisions will be made on how to pay for this sudden extra expense. According to The Independent, all trusts are expected to foot the bill even though they are entitled to force their employees to pay the registration fee.

Local authorities and police forces will also be expected to meet costs for employees working with vulnerable people, although their costs are unclear.

The new scheme will see employees working with vulnerable people – which includes prisoners – cleared by the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). The ISA is expected to employ 200 case workers to sift through information passed to them by the police, professional bodies and employers before making a judgement.

Within five years, the government has estimated that the details of 11.3 million people will be stored on the database, making it the largest of its kind in the world. The tighter rules mean that the number of people barred from working with vulnerable groups in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will double from 20,000 to 40,000.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has expressed concern about the increased cost to councils and said that "questions need to be asked" about the £64 fee.

The Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman, Chris Huhne, said the scheme was a "disproportionate response" that risked deterring people from volunteering.